A beheaded deer has been found dumped down an alleyway next to a church.

The mutilated animal was found by a member of the public alongside St Saviour’s Church in Sunbury last Wednesday (September 23).

Its body had been dumped in grassland off Vicarage Road with its head and legs ripped from its body, alongside six mangled rabbits.

Spelthorne borough councillor for Sunbury Common ward, Alison Griffiths, said she believed the animals must have been killed by a person.

“It’s unbelievable,” she said. “The fact it has been left out where kids walk home from school that way... a lot of parents have been upset about the deer and children finding that in the morning is absolutely disgusting.

"I’ve never seen anything like it. But I want to get to the bottom of it and I would like to see charges brought against the person responsible for it.”

The Tory councillor organised a clean up day earlier this year to remove syringes and drug paraphernalia at the site and has been working towards installing a gate at the entrance points to the alleyway to stop flytippers from accessing the area.

“There is so much debris and asbestos and so much drug use down there,” she said.

“There were thousands of beer cans that we need to try and remove. A lot of elderly people have garages down the alleyway and they can’t use them because of flytipping.”

Elisa Allen, associate director at the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said the Sunbury community should be deeply concerned by the callous act.

“Psychology and criminology studies have shown that people who commit acts of cruelty to animals rarely stop there and often go on to commit crimes against humans,” she said.

“We ask that anyone with information about the identity of the person or persons responsible for this cruel crime to contact the police immediately.”

The image of the deer and rabbits has been shared on Facebook with some people commenting the gruesome picture was "barbaric".

Jaz Talbot wrote: “This is repulsive, makes me so angry that people do this sort of thing, do they have no conscience??”

Another resident, Tracy Aston, wrote: “I’m not an expert, but looking at the poor little fawn, that doesn’t look like it’s been caused by a dog. Could this have been done for food, which is as equally disgusting and barbaric.”

The carcasses have since been removed by Spelthorne Borough Council’s Streetscene team.

A spokesman for the RSPCA said: “We are sorry to hear about this deer - this sounds like a very upsetting find for the passer-by to come across.

“It is difficult to say what caused the death of this animal but we urge anyone with any information, or evidence about an animal welfare offence, to call the RSPCA’s advice line on 0300 123 8018.”

Surrey Police said the incident had not been reported to them, but has asked anyone with any information or witnesses to any suspicious activity to phone 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.